


on the sapphire seas

by ottermo



Series: As Prompted [46]
Category: Humans (TV)
Genre: F/F, Gen, Pirate AU, Voyages of the Emerald Eye
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-26 13:46:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13859007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ottermo/pseuds/ottermo
Summary: Fred never wanted to be a pirate. In the early days he dreamed that his family might rescue him eventually, but the ocean is a big place and he is so alone.





	on the sapphire seas

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Week 2, Day 6 of the Humans 4-Week Challenge. The prompt was ‘Pirate AU’! 
> 
> I had, perhaps, a little too much fun with this AU! It helped that I was reading a novel set on a pirate ship at the time. 
> 
> This has a companion piece, ‘a sailor’s heart is never run aground’, which comes next in this prompt series.

The grip on his mind loosened as soon as he arrived back on board the Joybringer, and Fred returned to himself.

His arms ached with the memory of everything he’d done while under the influence of his captain - how could he have done those things? They were innocent people, honest sailors trying to bring a cargo to shore. It was just terrible luck that they’d sailed so close to the Joybringer, a very poorly named vessel that brought only chaos and destruction to anyone it attacked.

Captain Hobb was human, but his crew were all synthetic, and he’d developed a code that allowed him to assert his will directly onto them, making them as violent and bloodthirsty as any human pirate. Most of the crew had no true consciousness, so they didn’t and couldn’t object to being used that way. But for Fred, it was a living hell he was constantly aware of.

To add insult to injury, Captain Hobb’s override had been developed from a code written by his own father, who’d given him consciousness to start off with. That he was now controlled by the very thing that had first liberated him was almost enough to make Fred as angry and vengeful as his captain would like him to be. 

In between the raids of other ships, the Captain relaxed his influence on the synth crew, so they could return to quietly carrying out their duties. It made for a very smooth-run ship, well-kept and in much better repair than it had ever been when the Joybringer had belonged to Fred’s father, David. The single-minded attentions of an unconscious crew only made the ship more efficient, and their attacks more formidable. 

But Captain Hobb never needed to fear that his crew would turn on him in mutiny, because he stayed just present enough in their minds that they could not bring him harm. Even if Fred could place his hands around the captain’s throat, he wouldn’t be able to squeeze the life out of him. Loyalty to Hobb was deeply entrenched in his root code, for as long as the man remained alive. 

Fred strode along the boards that led to the hatch, seeking his charging quarters below deck. He wasn’t needed up here anymore. Fred was big and strong, and his designated role during raids was to swing aboard the other vessel on a line of rope, and then kill as many of the crew as he could, before they could defend themselves against the other Joybringer pirates, who went straight for the cargo. 

He reached his small room, and connected to his charger. He tried to concentrate on the power flowing into him, tried to feel revitalised by it. But all he could think about was how he’d lost the power he was replacing. How his arms had moved against his will and killed those sailors. How they’d cried out for the gods of the sea to have mercy on their souls. How they’d tried in vain to fight back, but found themselves powerless against Fred’s synthetic reflexes and superior strength. 

It was too much.

He retreated into standby mode. Even there, the feelings of grief and anger and loneliness and guilt were not fully muted, but they dulled now, and mingled together. Fred rested as well as he could.

It was hard to tell how much time had passed, when someone came and stirred him. He looked up, and saw Robert, the ship’s mate, standing in front of him. “All hands on deck,” Robert barked. “We’re under attack.”

With a sickening dread, Fred felt the chilling power of Hobb’s code overcoming him again. He followed Robert out of the charging cabin and up the wooden stairs, back onto the deck. Sure enough, another ship had come dangerously close to the Joybringer, but Fred couldn’t take in any of its details - the rogue code drew his attention away from anything that wasn’t the defence of his ship. 

All around him, Joybringer synths fought the invaders, who’d boarded by means of swingropes. It was exactly the same as the situation he’d faced earlier, only now he was in place of the sailors. He drew his sword and lunged for the person in front of him, not even aware if it was a man or a woman he attacked: it was just an enemy. 

He never felt the impact of his sword against bone. Before he could make the strike, a swift hand came out and hit his chin. In the few seconds he had before his mind shut down completely, Fred mused on the fact that this had never happened before - usually, by the time someone realised he was a synth, he’d already maimed them enough that they couldn’t hope to switch him off. This person must have known what he was, before he even reached them. This person—

His thoughts disappeared entirely. Only darkness remained. Fred did not register the cries of, “We’ve got him!”, or the feeling of a sack being tied over his head, and ropes bound around his arms and legs to stop him struggling to carry out Hobb’s commands when he awoke. He knew nothing, even when he was attached to a swingrope and propelled over to the other ship. He would only find out later just how he’d been captured.

 

* * *

 

Once they had Fred, and Hester had dealt with the Captain swiftly and brutally, there was no need to stay on board the Joybringer a second more. Niska watched as the corrupted code broke down, and one by one, the synths stopped fighting. They looked around, could not remember why they were in combat, and retreated. They would look bewildered, Niska was sure, if they had the capacity to feel anything at all. As it was, they merely went back to their duties. Hester would stay aboard and make sure they headed for the harbour, where the cargo they’d unknowingly stolen could be handed over to those who were expecting it.

Niska took hold of the swingrope, once Leo had thrown it back to her. She’d used it to transfer Fred to the Emerald Eye, where Max and Mia had been waiting to retrieve him. Now she swung back aboard herself, hitting the planks at roughly the same time as Mattie and Flash. 

She stopped to receive a congratulatory hug and kiss from Astrid as she headed for the hatch. “Are you alright?” her girlfriend asked, looking her over. 

Niska smiled. “I’m fine.”

“You’d better go down,” Astrid said, sounding reluctant to send Niska away so soon. “The Captain wants all of you to be there to wake him up.” 

Niska nodded, and headed for the hatch. She kept hold of Astrid’s hand until they were at arm’s length. “I’ll find you later.”

She climbed down the steps that led to the Captain’s quarters, and saw Leo, Max and Mia assembled there already. Fred had been propped up against a chest in the middle of the room, his eyes still closed.

“There you are, Niska,” said their Captain, smiling. “That was quick work.” Laura’s eyes danced beneath her hat. “I knew you’d want to do this together - I’ll leave you to it.” 

She left her quarters, stopping only briefly to give Mia’s shoulder an affectionate squeeze. Then it was just the five of them. 

“Go on, Max,” said Mia, nodding towards their youngest brother, then gesturing at Fred. “It’s time.”

But Max only smiled. “I think Niska should do it,” he said. “She’s the one who rescued him.” 

Niska looked around at the others. Nobody objected. She stepped forwards and knelt down in front of Fred, reaching out a hand to tap his chin. At the crucial moment, the Emerald Eye gave a tiny jolt and listed forward a little, jogging Niska’s hand just the right amount to awaken him. It was as if the ship herself, which had given all of them a home, was welcoming Fred, too, into her protective care. 

Fred’s eyes slowly opened. Niska pulled back, so he could see that they were all there, all safe, all together.

“Welcome back, brother,” Niska said softly. As soon as he was aware enough to move, Fred leaned forwards and hugged her tightly. She heard a shuffle from behind her as Max came and joined the embrace, not waiting a second longer for a turn. Finally Mia and Leo joined in too, until they were all there in a heap, deep in the body of the ship, reunited at last.


End file.
